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The Council also adopted a payment in lieu of taxes program that will pay Hackensack $1,200 per apartment, for a total of $266,400 per year. Alternatively, Meridia could pay the city 2 percent of the total cost of the development, depending on which is greater.

The PILOT program will last 30 years. City officials, in a press release, said the earnings from the PILOT would exceed what the $80,000 it collects annually from the site now, and demonstrate its commitment to the project.

The project represents the first tangible sign of progress in the Main Street Rehabilitation Plan, which seeks to overhaul Hackensack's downtown by encouraging mixed-use development. Adopted in June, the plan calls for an easier building approval process and two-way traffic on Main Street.